United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide each veteran who submits a claim for VA benefits with an opportunity to permit a covered congressional employee in the office of the veteran's Member of Congress to have read-only access to all of the veteran's records in the Veterans Benefits Administration databases. A Member may designate up to two such covered congressional employees. A covered congressional employee may not be recognized as an agent or attorney with respect to veterans' benefit claims. Funds under this bill may not be used to design or administer any training for covered congressional employees. The bill makes funds available for FY2018 through FY2021 for such congressional employee access program.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Heartbeat Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for a physician to knowingly perform an abortion: (1) without determining whether the fetus has a detectable heartbeat, (2) without informing the mother of the results, or (3) after determining that a fetus has a detectable heartbeat. It provides an exception for an abortion that is necessary to save the life of a mother whose life is endangered by a physical (but not psychological or emotional) disorder, illness, or condition. A physician who performs a prohibited abortion is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Tax Relief for our Nation's Heroes Act or the Andrew P. Carpenter Tax Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income any amount attributable to the discharge of student loan indebtedness of a veteran who served on active duty and: (1) is deceased as a result of a service-connected death or disability, or (2) has a service-connected disability that the Department of Veterans Affairs has rated as total.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Local Zoning Decisions Protection Act of 2017 This bill nullifies: the final Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) rule entitled "Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing" and any successor rule substantially similar to it, and the notice relating to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Assessment Tool and any successor notice or rule substantially similar to it. No federal funds may be used to design, build, maintain, utilize, or provide access to a federal database of geospatial information on community racial disparities or disparities in access to affordable housing. HUD is required to: (1) consult with state, local government, and public housing agency officials to develop recommendations, consistent with applicable rulings of the U.S. Supreme Court, to further the Fair Housing Act's purposes and policies; and (2) make a final report publicly available online within 12 months after enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 12 January 2017
Student Loan Opportunity Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to tax-exempt private activity bond financing, to: (1) eliminate a provision that restricts nonprofit scholarship funding corporations that acquire student loan notes to notes incurred under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (thus allowing such corporations to access tax-exempt financing for other types of student loans), and (2) expand the operations of such corporations to include performing student assistance related activities.
United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2017
Permanently Repeal the Estate Tax Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the federal estate tax, effective for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2016.
United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2017
Stop Dangerous Sanctuary Cities Act This bill prohibits a sanctuary jurisdiction from receiving grants under certain Economic Development Assistance Programs and the Community Development Block Grant Program. A sanctuary jurisdiction is a state or political subdivision that has a statute, policy, or practice in effect that prohibits or restricts: (1) information sharing about an individual's immigration status, or (2) compliance with a lawfully issued detainer request or notification of release request. A state or political subdivision that complies with a detainer is deemed to be an agent of the Department of Homeland Security and is authorized to take actions to comply with the detainer. The bill limits the liability of a state or political subdivision, or an officer or employee of such state or political subdivision, for actions in compliance with the detainer.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
This bill designates the federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 719 Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee, as the "Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and United States Courthouse."
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017 This bill amends the McCarran-Ferguson Act to declare that nothing in that Act modifies, impairs, or supersedes the operation of antitrust laws with respect to the business of health insurance, including the business of dental insurance. Prohibitions against unfair methods of competition apply to the business of health insurance without regard to whether the business is for profit.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Encourages public schools with automated external defibrillators (AEDs), during time allocated under state law for training personnel in emergency first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), to train personnel in the use of AEDs.
United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2017
Hearing Protection Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) eliminate the $200 transfer tax on firearm silencers, and (2) treat any person who acquires or possesses a firearm silencer as meeting any registration or licensing requirements of the National Firearms Act with respect to such silencer. Any person who pays a transfer tax on a silencer after October 22, 2015, may receive a refund of such tax. The bill amends the federal criminal code to preempt state or local laws that tax or regulate firearm silencers.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Sports Medicine Licensure Clarity Act of 2017 This bill extends the liability insurance coverage of a state-licensed medical professional to another state when the professional provides medical services to an athlete, athletic team, or team staff member pursuant to a written agreement. Prior to providing such services, the medical professional must disclose to the insurer the nature and extent of the services. This extension of coverage does not apply at a health care facility or while a medical professional licensed in the state is transporting the injured individual to a health care facility.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
Health Care Choice Act of 2017 This bill repeals the health insurance and health coverage expansion requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and related provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. Provisions of law amended or repealed by those provisions are restored. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to provide that the laws of a state designated by a health insurer (primary state) apply to individual health insurance coverage offered by that insurer in any state (secondary state) if the coverage, states, and insurer comply with the conditions of this bill. Insurers are exempted from any secondary state's laws that would prohibit or regulate the operation of the insurer in that state. The primary state is given sole jurisdiction to enforce its covered laws in any secondary state. The Government Accountability Office must study the effect of this bill on specified health insurance issues.
United States · United States Congress · 5 January 2017
National Clinical Care Commission Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to establish within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) a National Clinical Care Commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate to supporting clinical care for individuals with complex metabolic or autoimmune disease, diabetes, or complications caused by such diseases. The duties of the commission include: evaluating HHS programs regarding the utilization of preventive health benefits, identifying current activities and gaps in federal efforts to support clinicians in providing integrated care, making recommendations regarding the development and coordination of federally funded clinical practice support tools, recommending clinical pathways for new technologies and treatments, evaluating and expanding education and awareness activities provided to health care professionals, and reviewing and recommending methods for outreach and dissemination of educational resources. The commission must submit an operating plan to HHS and Congress within 90 days of its first meeting. The commission is terminated after it submits a final report, but not later than the end of FY2021.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017
American Health Care Reform Act of 2017 This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the health care provisions of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective January 1, 2018. The bill restores provisions amended by the repealed provisions. This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow an income tax standard deduction for health insurance. Provisions regarding health savings accounts (HSAs) are revised, including to raise contribution limits and to expand the products and services that may be paid for using an HSA. Group health plans may vary premiums and cost-sharing based on participation in a wellness program. This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide grants to states for high risk health insurance pools. Individual health insurance coverage is governed by the laws of a state designated by the health insurance issuer. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services must publish Medicare claims and payment data. This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to provide for association health plans, which are group health plans sponsored by certain business associations. Veterans with certain service-related disabilities or who have been awarded a medal of honor must be provided access to medical services though specified entities other than the Department of Veterans Affairs. Independent medical review panels must review health care lawsuits in which the defendant alleges adherence to clinical practice guidelines. Federal courts have jurisdiction over health care lawsuits. This bill amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to revise non-security discretionary spending limits.
United States · United States Congress · 4 January 2017
This bill repeals a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that imposes an annual fee on a health insurance provider based on its net premium income.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Protect Medical Innovation Act of 201 7 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the excise tax on the sale of a medical device by the manufacturer, producer, or importer.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow a qualified individual to carry a concealed handgun into or possess a concealed handgun in another state that allows individuals to carry concealed firearms. A qualified individual must: (1) be eligible to possess, transport, or receive a firearm under federal law; (2) carry a valid photo identification document; and (3) carry a valid concealed carry permit issued by any state or be eligible to carry a concealed firearm in his or her state of residence. Additionally, the bill specifies that a qualified individual who lawfully carries or possesses a concealed handgun in another state: (1) is not subject to the federal prohibition on possessing a firearm in a school zone, and (2) may carry or possess the concealed handgun in federally owned lands that are open to the public.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to make it a crime for any person to perform or attempt to perform an abortion if the probable post-fertilization age of the fetus is 20 weeks or more. A violator is subject to criminal penalties—a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. The bill provides exceptions for an abortion: (1) that is necessary to save the life of the pregnant woman, or (2) when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. A physician who performs or attempts to perform an abortion under an exception must comply with specified requirements. A woman who undergoes a prohibited abortion may not be prosecuted for violating or conspiring to violate the provisions of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2017 This bill directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to complete, within 12 months, an audit of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks. In addition, the bill allows the GAO to audit the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks with respect to: (1) international financial transactions; (2) deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy matters; (3) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee; and (4) discussions or communications among Federal Reserve officers, board members, and employees regarding any of these matters.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Thin Blue Line Act This bill amends the federal criminal code to expand the list of statutory aggravating factors in death penalty determinations to also include the killing or attempted killing of a law enforcement officer, firefighter, or other first responder.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
ObamaCare Repeal Act This bill repeals the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, effective as of their enactment. Provisions of law amended by those Acts are restored.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Birthright Citizenship Act of 2017 This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to consider a person born in the United States "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States for citizenship at birth purposes if the person is born in the United States of parents, one of whom is: (1) a U.S. citizen or national, (2) a lawful permanent resident alien whose residence is in the United States, or (3) an alien performing active service in the U.S. Armed Forces. This Act shall not be construed to affect the citizenship or nationality status of any person born before the date of its enactment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Mobilizing Against Sanctuary Cities Act This bill prohibits a state or local government from receiving federal financial assistance for a minimum of one year if it restricts or prohibits a government entity or official from: (1) sending to or receiving from the responsible federal immigration agency information regarding an individual's citizenship or immigration status, or (2) maintaining or exchanging information about an individual's status. The bill restores assistance eligibility upon a Department of Justice (DOJ) determination that the jurisdiction no longer restricts or prohibits such actions. DOJ shall report each year to Congress regarding state or local jurisdictions that restrict or prohibit such actions.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Middle Class Health Benefits Tax Repeal Act of 2017 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, beginning with taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017, the excise tax on employer-sponsored health care coverage for which there is an excess benefit (high-cost plans).
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Presidential Library Donation Reform Act of 2017 This bill requires each presidential library fundraising organization to submit quarterly reports to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on every contributor who gave the organization a contribution or contributions (whether monetary or in-kind) totaling $200 or more for the quarterly period. NARA shall publish such information on its website within 30 days after each quarterly filing. It shall be unlawful for contributors or fundraising organizations to knowingly and willfully submit false information or omit material information.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2017 This bill repeals the United Nations Participation Act of 1945 and other specified related laws. The bill requires: (1) the President to terminate U.S. membership in the United Nations (U.N.), including any organ, specialized agency, commission, or other formally affiliated body; and (2) closure of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The bill prohibits: (1) the authorization of funds for the U.S. assessed or voluntary contribution to the U.N., (2) the authorization of funds for any U.S. contribution to any U.N. military or peacekeeping operation, (3) the expenditure of funds to support the participation of U.S. Armed Forces as part of any U.N. military or peacekeeping operation, (4) U.S. Armed Forces from serving under U.N. command, and (5) diplomatic immunity for U.N. officers or employees.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
Encourage New Legalized Immigrants to Start Training Act or the ENLIST Act This bill authorizes the enlistment in the Armed Forces of aliens unlawfully present in the United States on December 31, 2012, who: (1) have been continuously present in the United States since such date; (2) were younger than 15 years of age when they initially entered the United States; and (3) are otherwise eligible for original enlistment in a regular component of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Coast Guard. The Department of Homeland Security shall adjust the status of an alien enlisted under such authority to the status of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act applicable to aliens who entered the United States prior to January 1, 1972. The bill rescinds such lawful permanent resident status if the alien is separated from the Armed Forces under other than honorable conditions before serving the term of enlistment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 January 2017
FairTax Act of 2017 This bill is a tax reform proposal that imposes a national sales tax on the use or consumption in the United States of taxable property or services in lieu of the current income and corporate income tax, employment and self-employment taxes, and estate and gift taxes. The rate of the sales tax will be 23% in 2019, with adjustments to the rate in subsequent years. There are exemptions from the tax for used and intangible property, for property or services purchased for business, export, or investment purposes, and for state government functions. Under the bill, family members who are lawful U.S. residents receive a monthly sales tax rebate (Family Consumption Allowance) based upon criteria related to family size and poverty guidelines. The states have the responsibility for administering, collecting, and remitting the sales tax to the Treasury. Tax revenues are to be allocated among: (1) the general revenue, (2) the old-age and survivors insurance trust fund, (3) the disability insurance trust fund, (4) the hospital insurance trust fund, and (5) the federal supplementary medical insurance trust fund. No funding is authorized for the operations of the Internal Revenue Service after FY2021. Finally, the bill terminates the national sales tax if the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution (authorizing an income tax) is not repealed within seven years after the enactment of this bill.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2016
This bill amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act) by allowing a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program to incorporate a water quality improvement partnership program that encourages investment by publicly owned treatment works and municipal separate storm sewer systems in watershed-based projects for improving water quality. Those partnerships may be used by publicly owned treatment works and municipal separate storm sewer systems to attain and maintain water quality standards.
United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2016
Energizing American Maritime Act This bill amends: (1) the Natural Gas Act to direct the Department of Energy to require specified percentages of liquefied natural gas exports to be transported on vessels documented under U.S. law, and (2) the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 to direct the President to require specified percentages of crude oil exports to be transported on vessels documented under U.S. law.
United States · United States Congress · 28 September 2016
Sell the VA's Hotel Act This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to sell Pershing Hall for fair market value, transfer to the purchaser all right, title, and interest of the United States to the property, and return to the American Legion any personal property in the VA's possession that was located in or otherwise associated with Pershing Hall on the date of such sale, including memorabilia regarding General Pershing and the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I. The Pershing Hall Revolving Fund shall be abolished and its funds shall be deposited in the General Fund.
United States · United States Congress · 26 September 2016
Expresses concern about the disappearance of David Louis Sneddon in Yunnan Province, China, in August 2004. Encourages: (1) the Department of State and the intelligence community to continue joint investigations, coordinate investigations with the governments of China, Japan, and South Korea, and solicit information from regional affairs and law enforcement experts on plausible explanations for Sneddon's disappearance; (2) the State Department to work with foreign governments known to have diplomatic influence with North Korea; and (3) the intelligence community to assess the possibility of North Korea's involvement in Sneddon's disappearance and to seek his recovery. Requests the State Department and the intelligence community to continue to work with and inform Congress and Sneddon's family on efforts to resolve his disappearance.
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016
This bill designates the federal building and U.S. courthouse located at 719 Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee, as the "Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and United States Courthouse."
United States · United States Congress · 22 September 2016
Finds that, as the U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton failed to meet minimum standards of care with respect to the handling of classified and sensitive material.
United States · United States Congress · 20 September 2016
Encourages public schools with automated external defibrillators (AEDs), during time allocated under state law for training personnel in emergency first aid and CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), to train personnel in the use of AEDs.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Unaccompanied Alien Children Placement Transparency Act of 2016 This bill amends the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 to require the Department of Health and Human Services or the Department of Homeland Security to provide the following information to the governor and each appropriate agency of a state within 60 days after the custodial placement in such state of an unaccompanied alien child who is in federal custody by reason of the child's immigration status: the child's medical records if the child will be attending state public schools, the custodian's address and immigration status, any federal public benefit that the child will receive, and any federal public benefit that the custodian will receive as a result of such custody.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Disability Community Act of 2016 This bill amends title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to temporarily establish a higher federal matching rate with respect to Medicaid expenditures for certain services furnished to individuals with developmental disabilities if such expenditures are attributable to compliance with specified regulations. In the case of a state Medicaid program that does not require the use of an electronic visit verification system for personal care services and home health services, the federal matching rate for medical assistance expended on such services shall be incrementally reduced.
United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2016
Hunting, Education, and Recreational Development Act or the HEARD Act This bill authorizes the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to dispose of federal lands under their respective jurisdictions by offering them for sale or exchange to units of local government in accordance with this bill. Before the offering of lands for sale or exchange, states or the unit of local government in whose jurisdiction the lands are located may elect to obtain any such lands for local public purposes pursuant to the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Interior or USDA, as appropriate, shall retain the elected lands for conveyance to such states or unit of local government in accordance with that Act. The bill prescribes requirements for disposition of the gross proceeds of the sales of lands under this bill, including that: 15% be paid to the state where the sale takes place to be used to supplement the education of students in kindergarten through grade 12, to supplement public support of institutions of public higher education, and to supplement state agricultural and natural resource agencies; and 10% of such proceeds be deposited in a special account to be created in the Treasury which may be used for the acquisition of recreational beneficial lands and interests (providing an opportunity for hunting, recreational fishing, recreational shooting, recreational off-highway vehicles, or other recreational purposes, or to achieve better management of public lands through consolidation of federal ownership).
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
This bill amends the federal criminal code to exclude from certain minimum sentencing requirements a federal employee outside the United States who, while on-duty, uses, carries, or possesses an agency-issued firearm in a crime of violence.
United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2016
Commends the Tennessee Valley Authority on its successful construction and management of the Tennessee River system on the 80th anniversary of the system.
United States · United States Congress · 5 July 2016
This bill directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate to arrange for the posthumous presentation of a Congressional Gold Medal to Larry Doby in recognition of his achievements and contributions to American major league athletics, civil rights, and the Armed Forces during World War II.
United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2016
Agency Accountability Act of 2016 This bill requires any agency that receives a fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement to deposit the amount in the general fund of the Treasury. The funds may not be used unless the funding is provided in advance in an appropriations bill. Any amounts deposited during the fiscal year in which this bill is enacted may not be obligated during the fiscal year and must be used for deficit reduction. The bill amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to require offsetting receipts and collections to be treated as revenue. (Offsetting receipts and collections are funds collected by agencies from other government accounts or from the public in businesslike or market-oriented transactions. Under current law, the collections are treated as negative budget authority and outlays rather than revenue and may be used to offset spending for budget enforcement purposes.) The requirements of the bill do not apply to the U.S. Postal Service or the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and the Director of the USPTO must submit annually to Congress a report describing any fee, fine, penalty, or proceeds from a settlement collected by the USPTO during the previous year.
United States · United States Congress · 19 May 2016
Air Traffic Controller Hiring Improvement Act of 2016 This bill directs the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), in appointing air traffic controllers, to give preferential consideration to qualified individuals maintaining 52 consecutive weeks of experience involving the active separation of air traffic after receipt of an air traffic certification or facility rating within 5 years of application while serving at an FAA air traffic control facility, a civilian or military air traffic control facility of the Department of Defense, or a tower operating under contract with the FAA. The FAA shall consider additional applicants by referring an approximately equal number of employees for appointment among two applicant pools. The number referred from each group shall not differ by more than 10%. Pool one shall consist of applicants who: have successfully completed air traffic controller training and graduated from an institution participating in the Collegiate Training Initiative program and have received an appropriate recommendation or endorsement from such institution, are eligible for a veterans recruitment appointment and provide a Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty within 120 days of the announcement closing, are veterans eligible for veterans' benefits who maintain aviation experience obtained in the course of the individual's military experience, or are preference eligible veterans. Pool two shall consist of applicants who apply under a vacancy announcement recruiting from all U.S. citizens. The FAA: (1) may not use a biographical assessment when hiring, (2) must provide an individual who applied in response to a specified 2014 vacancy announcement and was disqualified as the result of a biographical assessment an opportunity to reapply under the revised hiring practices, and (3) must waive any maximum age limit for such reapplying applicants who met such requirement when they applied under such announcement. Otherwise, the maximum age limit for an original appointment as an air traffic controller under this bill shall be 35 years of age. The FAA shall consider directly notifying secondary schools and institutes of higher learning of a vacancy announcement for pool one applicants.
United States · United States Congress · 13 May 2016
Regulatory Integrity Act of 2016 This bill directs each executive agency to make publicly available on the agency website or in the rule making docket on Regulations.gov a list of each pending agency regulatory action, the date the agency began to develop or consider the action, its status, an estimate of the date it will be final and in effect, a brief description of such action, and each public communication about the action issued by the agency, including the date of the communication, its intended audience, the method of communication, and a copy of the original communication. Each agency shall publish the information required within 24 hours after such communication is issued and maintain the public availability of such information for at least 5 years after the action is finalized. Any public communication issued by an agency that refers to a pending agency regulatory action: shall specify whether the agency is considering alternatives and accepting comments; shall expressly disclose that the agency is the source of the information to the intended recipients; and may not solicit support for or promote the action nor include statements of aggrandizement for the agency, any federal employee, or the action.
United States · United States Congress · 12 May 2016
Patient Access to Durable Medical Equipment Act of 2016 or the PADME Act This bill amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to establish a bid ceiling for durable medical equipment (such as wheelchairs) under Medicare's competitive acquisition program, through which rates are set according to a bidding process rather than by an established fee schedule. Specifically, the bid ceiling for such an item shall not be less than the fee schedule amount that would otherwise be determined. Under current law, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) must use payment information from competitive acquisition programs to make payment adjustments for areas outside of such programs. The bill requires CMS, in making these adjustments, to account for stakeholder input. In addition, CMS must account for a comparison of competitive acquisition areas and other areas with respect to the following factors: average travel distance and cost associated with furnishing items and services, barriers to access, average delivery time, average volume of items and services furnished by suppliers, and number of suppliers. In addition, CMS shall delay by 15 months the full implementation of new Medicare payment rates for durable medical equipment. On a monthly basis, CMS must publish on its website the results of the monitoring of health outcomes and Medicare beneficiaries' access to durable medical equipment.
United States · United States Congress · 3 May 2016
Working to Integrate Networks Guaranteeing Member Access Now Act or the WINGMAN Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide an accredited, permanent congressional employee with read-only remote access to the electronic Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) claims records system of a represented veteran, regardless of whether the employee is acting under a power of attorney executed by the veteran. The VA shall ensure that access does not allow the employee to modify system data. An employee must complete the VA certification process required of agents or attorneys in order to have system access. Each Member of Congress who elects to have an employee participate in the system shall bear the certification cost, which shall be paid from the Member's representational allowance. Information access by an employee shall be deemed: (1) a covered disclosure requiring prior consent, with specified exceptions; and (2) a permitted disclosure relating to the privacy of individually identifiable health information. The VA may not recognize an employee for purposes of preparation, presentation, and prosecution of VA claims by reason of such system access. "Accredited, permanent congressional employee" means an employee of a Member of Congress who assists constituents with issues regarding federal departments or agencies. "Electronic VBA claims records system" means the VA system that provides claim status information, including information about medical records, compensation and pension exams records, rating decisions, a statement of the case and a supplementary statement of the case, a notice of disagreement, and Form-9.
United States · United States Congress · 27 April 2016
Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer's Act or the EUREKA Act This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish EUREKA prize competitions to achieve high-priority breakthroughs in Alzheimer's disease and dementia prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care. The NIH must: (1) convene an advisory council of nongovernmental experts in Alzheimer's disease and dementia to develop the EUREKA prize competitions, and (2) appoint a panel of judges to evaluate submissions. The council and panel are not subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act. Support for EUREKA prize competitions may be provided by private organizations and individuals.
![Official portrait of Rep. Duncan, John J., Jr. [R-TN-2]](https://www.congress.gov/img/member/d000533_200.jpg)